| atom, | fraction, | member, | section, |
| component, | fragment, | particle, | segment, |
| constituent, | ingredient, | piece, | share, |
| division, | instalment, | portion, | subdivision. |
| element, |
Part, a substance, quantity, or amount that is the result of the division of something greater, is the general word, including all the others of this group. A fragment is the result of breaking, rending, or disruption of some kind, while a piece may be smoothly or evenly separated and have a certain completeness in itself. A piece is often taken for a sample; a fragment scarcely would be. Division and fraction are always regarded as in connection with the total; divisions may be equal or unequal; a fraction is one of several equal parts into which the whole is supposed to be divided. A portion is a part viewed with reference to some one who is to receive it or some special purpose to which it is to be applied; in a restaurant one portion (i. e., the amount designed for one person) is sometimes, by special order, served to two; a share is a part to which one has or may acquire a right in connection with others; an instalment is one of a series of proportionate payments that are to be continued till the entire claim is discharged; a particle is an exceedingly small part. A component, constituent, ingredient, or element is a part of some compound or mixture; an element is necessary to the existence, as a component or constituent is necessary to the completeness of that which it helps to compose; an ingredient may be foreign or accidental. A subdivision is a division of a division. We speak of a segment of a circle. Compare [PARTICLE]; [PORTION].
PARTICLE.
Synonyms:
| atom, | grain, | mite, | scrap, | whit. |
| corpuscle, | iota, | molecule, | shred, |
| element, | jot, | scintilla, | tittle, |
A particle is a very small part of any material substance; as, a particle of sand or of dust; it is a general term, not accurately determinate in meaning. Atom (Gr. a- privative, not, and temno, cut) etymologically signifies that which can not be cut or divided, and is the smallest conceivable particle of matter, regarded as absolutely homogeneous and as having but one set of properties; atoms are the ultimate particles of matter. A molecule[265] is made up of atoms, and is regarded as separable into its constituent parts; as used by physicists, a molecule is the smallest conceivable part which retains all the characteristics of the substance; thus, a molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Element in chemistry denotes, without reference to quantity, a substance regarded as simple, i. e., one incapable of being resolved by any known process into simpler substances; the element gold may be represented by an ingot or by a particle of gold-dust. In popular language, an element is any essential constituent; the ancients believed that the universe was made up of the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water; a storm is spoken of as a manifestation of the fury of the elements. We speak of corpuscles of blood. Compare [PART].
Antonyms:
| aggregate, | entirety, | mass, | quantity, | sum, | sum total, | total, | whole. |